(a) Field
The present invention relates to a light exposer and a controlling method of a light exposer.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In manufacturing display devices, the size of a mother substrate may be increased to accommodate more display device parts on the mother substrate, thereby reducing the unit cost for each display device. Nevertheless, if the size of a mask corresponding to the mother substrate also is increased, the manufacturing cost of the mask may be substantially increased; as a result, the total cost may be increased.
For avoiding the increased manufacturing cost that may be caused by the increased size of the mask, the use of a mask may be minimized. For example, an inkjet printing method and/or a reverse offset printing method that does not require a mask may be applied.
Nevertheless, printing methods may be applicable to only a portion of the display device manufacturing process, and some steps in the manufacturing process may still require one or more masks. For example, the wiring manufacturing steps generally require one or more photolithography process steps using one or more masks.
In general, to form a pattern, such as a pixel pattern or a wiring pattern, a photolithography process is executed. In the photolithography process, a mask is used in an exposure process that involves irradiating an exposure beam through an opening of the mask.
An exposure beam used in the exposure process may be from a light source (such as a laser source), and a light exposer may continuously emit the exposure beam for a long period of time. Typically, the illumination of the exposure beam provided by the light exposer may be deteriorate due to the long-time usage of the light exposer. For example, when the light exposer has been used more than 30 days, damage may be generated in an optic system of the exposure beam generator, and causing the illumination of the exposure beam to deteriorate. As a result, the illumination uniformity of the exposure process may substantially deteriorate, and the exposure capacity of may substantially deteriorate.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention. The Background may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.